The Great Moderation Money and Banking in output Essay

The Great Moderation Money and Banking in output - Essay Example The 'Great Moderation' in Output and Employment Volatility: An Update, by Evan F. Koenig and Nicole Ball , Economic Letter, FRB Dalla: Volatility can wreak havoc on economie. udden, harp up and down in buine activity can make it difficult for conumer to plan their pending, worker to feel ecure in their job and companie to determine their future invetment. Becaue of their impact on expectation and buine and conumer confidence, wing in the economy can become elf-reinforcing. Volatility can alo pill over into real and financial aet market, where evere price movement can produce eemingly arbitrary reditribution of wealth. It' good new, then, that the U.. economy ha become much more table. On average, the five receion from 1959 to 1983 were 47 month apart, lingered 12 month and were aociated with a 2.17 percent peak-to-trough decline in real gro dometic product. By contrat, the 1990 downturn came after 92 month of expanion, lated eight month and involved a 1.26 percent decline in GDP. The 2001 lump ended a record 120 month of uninterrupted growth, lated eight month and entailed a GDP decline of only 0.35 percent. ... depoit interet rate, broader acce to credit market through financial innovation like home equity loan, tighter inventory control facilitated by technology, and the globalization of output and labor market. By improved monetary policy, analyt typically have in mind central bank action that repond more quickly and forcefully to emerging inflation preure, o that medium- to long-term price expectation remain contained. Bernanke' approach to looking at the variou reaon for low long-term rate i more rational and reaonable than any I've een in the dozen of article and paper I've read on the yield curve. There wa one point I did diagree with, however. Bernanke aid, "I have argued elewhere that improved policie, which tabilized inflation and better anchored inflation expectation, are an important reaon for thi poitive development; no doubt, tructural change in the economy uch a deregulation, improved inventory control method, and better rik-haring in the financial market alo contributed." I think it hould be the other way around and read like thi, "tructural change in the economy uch a deregulation, improved inventory control method, and better rik-haring in the financial market, which tabilized inflation and better anchored inflation expectation, are an important reaon for thi poitive development; no doubt, improved policie alo contributed. He' referring to the "Great Moderation" in which volatility in the GDP and inflation ha declined. By improved policie he' talking about the monetary policy. o he' giving the Fed the credit for getting the economy under control. He' dead wrong on that point and I hope he come to hi ene and realize the truth on thi very important matter. The Fed, whether they realize it or not, ha more o been driven by economic factor, than been a driver of

Choose two characters from the novel Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Choose two characters from the novel Of Mice and Men Essay America in the 1930s was a class-based society where women had no choice. The Wall Street Crash in 1929 meant the Great Depression was occurring, people living in poverty because of this but most would travel round to find work. Racism was still a critical problem in this time so this was affecting many lives, only white people could get a decent job, if a black person could it would be living in the same conditions as slaves, even though slavery was abolished in 1865- over 60 years before. Crooks is the stable buck and is black, he is a clever but lonely man who just wants some companionship. Curleys wife is seen as a tart, we see that she is also lonely and very misunderstood. In the novel, even though Steinbeck had made the characters an isolated group, they all represent different sides of the society, this allows him to criticise what he sees as problems. Slavery started in America in the 15th century, thousands of slaves arrived looking for a better way of life than what they had left, but infact their new lives were worse. Slavery meant big business in America. In the north most Negroes were free but in the south it was the way of life. Slaves were employed as either field workers; they worked long hours, lived in huts and slept on the floor. Then there were the house workers who would cook, clean, run the masters house and bring up the children, they lived a more comfortable life, but caused mistrust between the two. Sometimes a way to solve this was to split up families, selling the children. Slave revolt was common and in 1831 people started to understand the need to abolish slavery, in 1833 it became more widespread but Lincoln and the civil war offered more help to the black society. Finally in 1865 slavery was abolished Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the United States. Crooks was not a slave but was still a victim of racial prejudice. He is lonely and very clever, He reads a lot. Got books I his room, and we see that he is aware of his rights, a tattered dictionary and a mauled copy of the California Civil code for 1905-98 this in a way is worse as he knows that he could have a better life. He loves company but hides it, as he is sure this was the best his life would get. The men know that they can be racist towards him and get away with it; this is made clear when George asks give the stable-buck hell? Asking why its ok, he is given the simple answer from candy that its fine because he is a nigger. Crooks was still very much treated as a slave. The men tell the stories of how they make him fight for a use of entertainment but on the count of the niggers got a crooked back, Smitty cant use his feet the men think its fine beating Crooks up and that theyre being kind. The group do not realise that Crooks is scared of them and so isolates himself from everyone and everything going on around him he kept his distance and demanded everyone else kept theirs but by doing this he had to live alone in the stables while the men on the ranch lived together, however they did respect he was a human because they did keep away from him. Crooks pain-tightened lips show he is suffering and is punishing himself, he tells himself that he aint wanted in the bunk-house and so other people aint wanted in my room. He says this to Lennie, who doesnt understand why crooks doesnt want to talk to someone or why he doesnt go in the bunk house, Crooks response to this is that the men say I stink- another example of the racial prejudice; hes black so therefore he must stink. Crooks sees that with Lennie he has someone he can tease and so does, when he tease s him Steinbeck writes that, Crooks pressed forward some kind of private victory. Crooks victory is that probably all his life he has been teased because of his colour, now he has someone he can pick on that he can beat. There is a sense of war in which black verses white and unusually the black can easily win. Crooks know he can get away with picking on Lennie, his face lighted with pleasure in his torture, he is enjoying that he can pick on a white person. Crooks is a dreamer, he has one dream of the past; I remember when I was a little kid on my old mans chicken ranch. Had two brothers. They were always near me, always there. He dreams of his past because he knows that he has no future, and that the others do have a future, there is a slight sense of jealousy as he cant leave the ranch. This is also another example of Crooks need for companionship; he is showing how lonely he is. Lennie then tells Crooks of his and Georges dream to own some land, to which he replies, Nobody never gets to heaven, and nobody ever gets no land he knows what societies like and has seen many men with dreams but none ever come true, but even though he is pessimistic he is right. However even saying this he is still tempted to join the dream, he wants to be around people and is happy when people talk to him. He says I didnt mean it. Jus foolin. I wouldnt want to go no place like that. He knows he has to support black people and that it wouldnt happen. Through the character of crooks we see that Steinbeck thought that Crooks was treated badly and that he obviously felt sympathy for him and all black people in America. We see examples of Crooks being afraid of all people, including Curleys wife, in a time where women werent listened to, Steinbeck puts the message across that he shouldnt have to pull back and have to live in fear, worrying about what is going to happen to him and who by. If Crooks had been white he wouldnt be treated in the way he was. Curleys wife is another character that is seen as by the men on the ranch as insignificant, like Crooks. There are many similarities between the two; they are outcast, misunderstood, and oppressed. Neither are treated as equals and are trapped in the same life with no future. Even so she does not see these similarities and picks on Crooks for the same reason he picks on Lennie, because she can she knows that he will listen to her and be afraid. Curley s wife is all she was ever called, she was not given a name showing that she means nothing and is only a possession to Curley. This suggests that women were on the same level as black people and in some ways the same position. As Negroes were victims of racial prejudice women were victims of sexism. Curleys wife has no relationship with her husband and she doesnt look after the household like she is supposed to, this suggests that she is trapped and is only there so Curley can say hes married. She doesnt love him and is only there for his satisfaction. Curleys wife is lonely and when she looks for companionship within the ranch, the men say that she is too flirty, they think that Curleys married a tart but they dont understand her and dont try to. The men dont trust her and there is a sense of danger when George describes her as jail-bait. This also proves what the men think of her. There is a description of her, it goes through that she has, full, rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up. Her fingernails were red. Her hair hung in little rolled clusters, like sausages this is very superficial and shows that in a way she is covering herself and her feelings with a mask. Knowing that her husband is at a whorehouse she says I dont like Curley. He aint a nice fella this is very simplistic and suggests her interest, it also suggests that Curley does not love her either. She is obviously lonely and only gets a cold reception from the workers, she is isolated from the world and has lost all chance of having friends, and Steinbeck feels pity for her. He gives this message when she says think I dont like to talk to somebody ever once in a while? Think I like to stick in the house alla time? She questions them and gets no response from being kind. We see her lash out on page 111 when she is talking to Crooks, Lennie and Candy, she is angry because of Curley and so takes it out on them; people who she has a sense of power over; Ever body out doin sompin. Everybody! An what am I doing? Standin here talking to a bunch of bindle stiffs- a nigger an a dum-dum. This also gains her pity from the reader. Curleys wife is lonely and frustrated that there is nothing she can do or say make herself feel better but she does try by taking it out on the men, in this case Crooks. She says to him well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint even funny although she is being so nasty we still feel sympathy for her, we understand that she is so lonely, we can relate to this. As Crooks does Curleys wife dreams of the past and what could have been, she says to Lennie I could of went with the shows. Not jus one, neither. An a guy tol me he could put me in the pitchers. She also talks about her dream later. She says that the only reason she married Curley was that she wanted to leave home. This is because she thought that her mother had stopped her from being an actress by stealing a letter from a man who had said he could make her famous. She explains I ast her if she stole it, too, an she says no. So I married Curley. Met him at the Riverside Dance Palace that same night she married him out of spite to her mother and no other reason. This is a tragic picture, she is being very naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve in thinking that a letter was being sent, she doesnt realise that the man was playing her for a fool, this gains her sympathy from the reader. When she is dead there is such a sense of calmness and tranquillity, and the meanness and the plannings and the discontent and the ache for attention was all gone from her face. She was very pretty and simple, and her face was sweet and young. This is saying that she is now at peace and in a way because her life was such a disaster in which she had no future she is better off dead. It was the only way she could be happy and escape Curley and her loneliness. The 1930s was a class- based society within America. Racism was an ongoing problem and black people were still being treated as slaves, even though slavery was abolished in 1865. The great depression was also still a huge problem with 3 million people unemployed in 1930 and 13 million in 1932. People were living in poverty and any jobs going were poorly paid. However life was worst for black people, who were victims of racial prejudice and discrimination and women who were seen as insignificant and possessions of their husbands or fathers and were only there to look purty and look after the house. In the novel, even though Steinbeck had made the characters an isolated group, they all represent different sides of the society, this allows him to criticise what he sees as problems. Curleys wife and Crooks are just two characters that illustrate what life was like in America in the 1930s.

Marijuana Should Be Legal :: Argument for Medical Marijuana

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the importance of marijuana as a medicine and to propose a possible change in the federal laws prohibiting the medical use of marijuana. At the present time, thirty-four states ha ve laws that recognize the medical properties of marijuana and allow for its use when prescribed by a doctor. In fact, USA Today polls have shown that there is anywhere from 65% to 78% voter support for marijuana's medicinal use. (1) However, these laws cannot be implemented until there is a change in the federal laws. So why have these federal laws not been changed? First, there is a great misunderstanding of marijuana. There is also a significant lack of funding for marijuana research which could p rove its efficacy as a therapeutic drug. With proper funding, studies could help people understand marijuana so the long awaited and needed change can take place. Background Information on Marijuana What is Marijuana? Marijuana comes from the dried leaves and buds of the cannabis plant. (7) Although there are three varieties of the cannabis plant, cannabis sativa (the least potent of the three) is the most common form of the plant and is the mai n source of marijuana in the United States. Marijuana contains over 400 chemicals, although less than 100 are considered psychoactive. (7) Sixty-one of the chemicals found in marijuana are of the cannabinoid family and are only found in cannabis plants. The main active ingredient in marijuana is the cannabinoid delta-9 tetrahydrocannibinol, or THC. (7) THC has been shown to have many effects such as slowed reactions, increased appetite, released inhibitions, and impaired judgments and motor skills. M any of these effects are similar to the effects of alcohol, except that while alcohol causes a short temper and a propensity towards violence, marijuana does exactly the opposite. Marijuana induces a mellow state of relaxation. History of Marijuana as Medicine Marijuana has been used for thousands of years for its therapeutic value. The first known reference to the medical use of marijuana is contained in the 15th century BC Chinese Pharmacopoeia , the Ry-Ya. While there have been m any other reports on the value of medical marijuana throughout written history, the most noteworthy are the articles contained in many 18th century U.S. medical journals. Between 1840 and 1900, over 100 articles were published detailing the th erapeutic benefits and the safety of the drug. In fact, the federal government has used many references to these articles in health reports.

Edgar Allan Poe Essay -- Edgar Allan Poe, Biography

â€Å"The spirits of the dead, who stood, In life before thee, are again, In death around thee, and their will, Shall overshadow thee; be still†(â€Å"Spirits Of The Dead†). As the â€Å"Father Of Horror† Poe loved to write about his feelings in a more, disturbing and haunting way. He wrote many great poems about death, ghosts, and even some love stories; but in a twisted way. Poe had a deep love for writing and for much of his life could not share that with the world. Once he got into college, Poe started sharing his works with others. Soon he became famous and earned the name â€Å"Father Of Horror†. Edgar Allen Poe’s tragic life led to a fascination with the dark side which is certainly evident in â€Å"The Raven†. Edgar Allen Poe was a talented poet, who wrote many poems and books. Poe was born on January 19th 1809 in Boston Massachusetts(biography.com). He passed away on October 7th 1849, after being found unconscious in Baltimore, Maryland (poetryfoundation.org). When Poe was only a year old both his parents split up, and because of that he never really knew his father(biography.com). Also his mother passed away when he was only 3, so he had little to no memory of her(biography.com). After his mother’s death Poe had to live with a tobacco merchant and his wife(biography.com). He lived in Richmond, Virginia until he decided to leave to attend the University Of Virginia(biography.com). His adoptive father,John Allan, who he lived with when his mother passed, never gave him enough money to pay for all the costs of college(biography.com).Therefore Poe turned to gambling to cover the cost(biography.com). Poe was a very broken individual that had been through an enormous amount of problems( biography.com). When he came back home one time he discovered t... ... through great troubles all of his life, he still decided to share it with the world in the best way he could. Without his poems, Poe probably wouldn’t be the poet he is known for today. As the â€Å"Father Of Horror† Poe really brought his poems to life in a haunting and deeply saddening way; but also in a good way. Works Cited "Edgar Allan Poe Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 1996. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "Edgar Allan Poe." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 1997. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "Welcome to PoeStories.com." Poestories. Robert Giordano, 31 July 2005. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "Edgar Allan Poe." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Poe, Edgar Allan. "Spirits Of The Dead." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. "The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe." The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. Edgar Allan Poe Essay -- Edgar Allan Poe, Biography â€Å"The spirits of the dead, who stood, In life before thee, are again, In death around thee, and their will, Shall overshadow thee; be still†(â€Å"Spirits Of The Dead†). As the â€Å"Father Of Horror† Poe loved to write about his feelings in a more, disturbing and haunting way. He wrote many great poems about death, ghosts, and even some love stories; but in a twisted way. Poe had a deep love for writing and for much of his life could not share that with the world. Once he got into college, Poe started sharing his works with others. Soon he became famous and earned the name â€Å"Father Of Horror†. Edgar Allen Poe’s tragic life led to a fascination with the dark side which is certainly evident in â€Å"The Raven†. Edgar Allen Poe was a talented poet, who wrote many poems and books. Poe was born on January 19th 1809 in Boston Massachusetts(biography.com). He passed away on October 7th 1849, after being found unconscious in Baltimore, Maryland (poetryfoundation.org). When Poe was only a year old both his parents split up, and because of that he never really knew his father(biography.com). Also his mother passed away when he was only 3, so he had little to no memory of her(biography.com). After his mother’s death Poe had to live with a tobacco merchant and his wife(biography.com). He lived in Richmond, Virginia until he decided to leave to attend the University Of Virginia(biography.com). His adoptive father,John Allan, who he lived with when his mother passed, never gave him enough money to pay for all the costs of college(biography.com).Therefore Poe turned to gambling to cover the cost(biography.com). Poe was a very broken individual that had been through an enormous amount of problems( biography.com). When he came back home one time he discovered t... ... through great troubles all of his life, he still decided to share it with the world in the best way he could. Without his poems, Poe probably wouldn’t be the poet he is known for today. As the â€Å"Father Of Horror† Poe really brought his poems to life in a haunting and deeply saddening way; but also in a good way. Works Cited "Edgar Allan Poe Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 1996. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "Edgar Allan Poe." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, 1997. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "Welcome to PoeStories.com." Poestories. Robert Giordano, 31 July 2005. Web. 03 Feb. 2014. "Edgar Allan Poe." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. Poe, Edgar Allan. "Spirits Of The Dead." Poemhunter.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. "The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe." The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014.

3 generic strategy Essay

Michael porter developed 3 generic strategies: cost leadership, differentiation and focus. They are developed to create a defendable position in the long-run, outperforming competition and establish a competitive advantage. However does the generic strategy lead to sustainable competitive strategy? This analysis will explain in detail. Cost leadership means setting out to become the low-cost producer of its industry. Each industry is different and provides with diverse problems. Cost leadership can come from many different forms such as: pursuit of economies of scale, proprietary technology, preferential access to raw materials and other factors. The emphasis is on lower costs, not on low selling prices. For a cost leader to be effective it is imperative that it needs to exploit all sources of cost to its advantage. If a firm can execute this it will automatically sustain overall cost leadership and therefore outperform in its industry and dominate prices. In a differentiation strate gy a firm intention and desire is to be unique in its industry. â€Å"It selects one or more attributes that many buyers in an industry perceive as important, and uniquely positions itself to meet those needs† (Michael E Porter). This distinctive uniqueness is rewarded by a premium price that the firm can set. Been differentiation doesn’t have to be substantial. It can be as simple as having the best customer service. Differentiation may lead to profitability but doesn’t always guarantee the lead in the market share. Focus strategy emphases on a selected segment or group of segments within the industry and adapts its strategy to serving them to the exclusion of others. This focus strategy has two variants; cost focus and differentiation focus. Cost focus deals when a firm wants a cost advantage in its market. Differentiation focus deals with seeking differentiation within its target segment. A generic strategy does not lead to sustainable competitive advantage. This is because the â€Å"sustainability of the 3 generic strategies demands that a firm competitive advantage resists erosion by competition behaviour or industry evolution† (Michael E Porter). Each of the 3 generic portrays different risk. Competitor can imitate each of the moves or even ameliorate them and gain considerable advantage. They can also exploit a gap that may potentially arise when a company tries to differentiate itself. For a company to gain full competitive advantage it will need to possess some barriers that make this imitation almost impossible. The three generic  strategies can create competitive advantage can or destroy a business if not implemented correctly. If a firm concentrate its effort on picking one only it will have more chance of surviving than one that picks many. Firms who pick more than one of the generic strategy can be described as â€Å"stuck in the middle† (Mi chael E Porter). A firm stuck in the middle is guaranteed to possess no competitive advantage, low profitability, and can have its market share taking by firms who are competitive advantaged. It is particularly important for any firm to choose a correct strategy and implement it well. Reference: Business Strategy: The Three Generic Strategies: http://drjerryallison.hubpages.com/hub/Business-Strategy-The-Three-Generic-Strategies Accessed the 25th of March 2014. Definition of ‘Generic Strategies: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/generic-strategies Accessed the 25th of March 2014. Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies (ways of competing): http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/research/dstools/porters-generic-competitive-strategies/ Accessed the 25th of March 2014. Michael E porter, Competitive advantage, Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, published: New York: free Press; London: Collier Macmillan. Pages: 11-26 Michael Porter’s â€Å"Generic Strategies†: http://faculty.bcitbusiness.ca/kevinw/4800/Bobs_porter_notes.pdf Accessed the 25th of March 2014.

My Little Bit Of Country Essay Essays

My Little Bit Of Country Essay Essays My Little Bit Of Country Essay Essay My Little Bit Of Country Essay Essay My Little Bit of Country As humans we are always haunting the feeling of belonging. Not only the feeling of belonging to someone we love, but also figuring out the place where we feel home and safe. The feeling of belonging clarifies the ideal lifestyle for every individual. Some people find the feeling of belonging in a small suburb surrounded by an untamed nature. Others belong to a life surrounded by millions of people and skyscrapers. Once again, the feeling of belonging is a mindset that makes us value different kinds of lifestyles a feeling that makes us diverge from each other. In the essay My Little of Country (2012) written by Susan Cheaper, the thoughts about living and belonging to the city-life are being divulged to the reader. The essayist is arguing from her point of view of living her ideal life in the big city. Throughout, the essay is composed from a strict personal point of view. The personal point view and form of argumentation is being clarified from the beginning by the title My Little Bit of Country. The essay is following a chronological structure and is composed of two sections. The first section is representing the past where Cheaper is recalling old memories from her holding in New York City. The old memories of New York City are loaded with positive feelings, which appeals to the readers emotions. My earliest memories are of summer mornings in Central Park with my father after he came home from fighting World War II (P. L -l. 1-4). By the use of this as an opening line, and the mentioning of her father fighting in World War II it clarifies her feelings, and the strong importance of the memories from the big city creates sympathy from the beginning. Susan Cheaper starts off in the first section by comparing herself with a yak rapped in the Central park Zoo. Something about him suggested a great acceptance of the world in which he found himself so far from his snowy native mountains and bubbling brooks (p 1. I. 24-27). By using the yak as an example to amplify her feelings and the situation when she is forced to go living on the country with her parents her feeling of belonging in the city gets clarified. The use of an animal that is locked up in a place it does not belong to, appeals again to the readers emotions. Susan Achievers argumentation is build up with a unilateral positive opinion f the city-life supported by the use of negatively and positively loaded contrasts. The contrasts illustrate her strong opinion of her ideal life in the city and the differences between the life in the country and in the city. The city is stated as a place Of dreams -? a safe place to be a place where pieces Of nature also exist. Later in my life I heard Andy Warhol say that it was better to live in the city than the country because in the city he could find a little bit of country, but in the country there was no little bit of city (p. 3 -? l. 40 -149). Susan Cheaper arguments that the city contains the best of both sides, and by that she refers to Central park and The Central Park Zoo as the pieces of nature. In the same time this quotation also amplifies the meaning of the essays title, and how she feels that the city contains everything she needs to contain a successful life. People often associate the nature with an idyllic and peaceful place where people escape to when things get rough, but in Susan Cheaper s essay nature and country are depicted with an ironic attitude. When we went to visit my parents friends who had already made the move to Westchester or New Jersey, the so-called idyll of suburbia seemed a shabby comedown from Central Park (p. 2- l. 105-110). In the same way Cheaper uses negatively loaded adjectives to depict the country as a dangerous and rough place to be contrasting to the city. Why would want to scrape around the rough, dangerous ice of a country lake when I could glide around the smooth ice (p. 2- I. 115-117). The last section is representing the present. The use of both memories from the past and experiences from the present, amplifies her strong opinions and feelings toward the life on the country and in the city. In the last section Susan Cheaper mentions how great an importance Central Park has had during her life, and how the park has turned into a tradition for special and memorable occasions. For the past fifteen years, on New Years Eve we have we have gone to the Central park Our summer traditions happens on or around my birthday at the end of July (p. 4- l. 142-44 / 159-161). Her use of contrast, her unilateral opinions and experience-argumentation that appeals to the readers feelings, depicts the mindset Of most modern people who lives their lives in the big city. In todays socio most modern people no longer associate the country and the nature with a place where the human being belong. Still belonging to either the lifestyle in the city or on the country is an individual feeling and choice. Furthermore it is a statement that the modern society a result of the arbitration has made great changes to the human mindset and values in life. The modern people have now adapted to the life in the big cities surrounded by millions of people and grey skyscrapers that either makes us feel more powerful and successful or small, alienated and alone in a big city as New York.

Belonging speech Essays

Belonging speech Essays Belonging speech Essay Belonging speech Essay Belonging, what Is It? I believe belonging Is when you can say that you are a part of something, when you have a group or a club or even a lifestyle that other people share. In short, I believe that a sense of belonging can be found in the things or people that have shared the same experiences, both good and bad, because we can identify ourselves in those people. Today we will be exploring this idea of belonging in two texts; one is the of poems Fillies Crooknecks and SST Patriots College, by Polish-born Australian poet, Peter Crooknecks, and the other text is the 2012 movie Wreck it Ralph, directed by Rich Moore. The poems SST Patrick College and Fillies Crooknecks both deal with the notion of self-isolation and an inability to relate to the people that surround a persona. In both poems, we can assume that the persona is Peter Crooknecks himself. In Fillies Crooknecks he talks about how he could never relate to his father and his fathers friends when they would reminisce of their lives In Poland. He feels a sense of distance between himself and his parents culture that, as he says In the poem, he Inherited unknowingly. In the poem In the folk museum, delectation from a culture Is also portrayed, but this time It Is about the personas lack of connection to the Australian culture. The persona describes the things he sees in the museum as if they are foreign and unknown to him, so much so that he has to read the names of the objects to know what they are. A reason why the poet doesnt feel he can relate may be because he doesnt share the same experiences and doesnt have the same traditions and customs that other people, both his Eastern European parents had and his Australian culture, would have shared. He cant relate, or reminisce, or appreciate either of his two cultures, because he has never known enough about them to have an emotional attachment, and It Is this lack of attachment that prevents him from feeling a sense of inclusion. The sense of exclusion from a group Is also present In the film Wreck It Ralph. Ralph, who was the bad guy In an arcade game, was constantly ostracizes from the rest of he characters in the game. He lived on a pile of bricks far away from everyone else. He, like Peter Crooknecks, was often segregated from everyone else, except in the film, the exclusion was intentional. In the same way Crooknecks couldnt help not being able to relate to his father, Ralph couldnt help but break things, and the more he broke things, the more he would be distanced from the others in the game. He would have felt helpless and isolated, and his hunger to belong with everyone else is what made him escape his game in search off medal to prove with worth. In one scene of the movie, Ralph is seen attending a Bad-Anon, a support group for the villains in the arcade games. Here he is able to communicate his Ideas and feelings to people who feel the same and go through the same things. Ralph can Identify himself In the support group because they all share the same experiences. This act of comradely Indicates that Ralph does In fact know how to connect to others, but that his problem is that there is simply no-one for him to establish that friendship with. Another meets Ralph, she expects him to exclude her as other people do, but upon learning that he too is a rejected outcast, she reaches out to him and they become friends. This is a good example of how past experiences influence where we feel we belong. Their bond strengthens as the plot progresses, and as both Ralph and Penelope grow closer and closer, their personalities grow and they develop trait that they didnt have before they had friends. Penelope gains a sense of assertiveness, and Ralph earns to respect and consider peoples feelings. The characters in both the poems and the film both show the concept of not belonging. It is a theme that appears in art and modern media constantly, and portrays the idea that our experiences, both good and bad, influence who or where we feel we belong. We all root for the ones that overcome obstacles and win battles despite having disadvantages. We all root for the underdog; because we, as an audience, identify ourselves in them; because we have all, at one point or another, felt the same.

Leadership and Healthcare

Leadership and Healthcare Leadership is often associated with the business world. However, it has been acknowledged that it is crucial in any field and in any aspect of people’s lives. Healthcare is one of the fields where leadership is essential, as it has a positive impact on patients’ healing process (Laschinger, Wong, Cummings and Grau, 2014). It is necessary to add that there is sufficient theoretical framework that can enable healthcare professionals to choose the most appropriate leadership style. Slavkin (2010) states that strict and rigid leadership styles are becoming less effective and modern healthcare professionals prefer transformational leadership styles. It is important to stress that contemporary researchers focus on emotional and personal aspects of leadership. Thus, Laschinger et al. (2014, p. 7) note that resonant leadership is one of the most effective types of workplace empowerment. The researchers define resonant leadership as â€Å"a relationally focused leadership style † that includes â€Å"visionary, coaching, affiliative, and democratic approaches, whereas dissonant styles include pace setting and commanding† (Laschinger et al., 2014, p. 7).Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Leadership and Healthcare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The researchers stress that resonant leadership styles enable leaders to create the necessary atmosphere in the workplace and decrease the amount of nurse turnover, which is essential in the period of significant shortage in nursing professionals. It is noted that healthcare leaders facilitate lower incivility and greater job satisfaction, which positively affects patients’ wellbeing and quality of services provided. Laschinger et al. (2014) note that relationships between healthcare leaders and the rest of the staff is of paramount importance for creating the value.  Slavkin (2010) also notes that proper interpersonal relati onships are crucial for creation of the appropriate atmosphere in the working place. The researcher provides brief insights into development of leadership approaches and states that command and control leadership styles are becoming less effective especially in healthcare setting. Healthcare field is characterized by high pressure and significant workload. Clearly, additional stress in the form of rigid control and numerous commands forces many healthcare professionals less motivated and productive. This is especially true for nursing professionals who have to communicate with healthcare staff, patients and their relatives. Many nurses do not handle the pressure and there is a high rate of turnover. The researcher emphasizes that effective leaders have to be more attentive to needs and expectations of the staff. It is also stated that relationally loaded leadership is important for detecting and sharing values. Notably, the researcher pays special attention to the fact that leadersh ip will become more creative, interdisciplinary and will be characterized by â€Å"culturally diverse collaborations† (Slavkin, 2010, p. 40). Hence, it is clear that interpersonal relationships, coaching and creation of rapport is seen as a potential framework for development of the leadership in the future healthcare leadership. Again, the researcher stresses that such type of leadership will make the healthcare staff feel more empowered and motivated to address the needs of patients. It is also important to remember that healthcare professionals (especially nurses) will also be able to employ some leadership methods when working with patients.Advertising Looking for assessment on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Slavkin (2010) also adds that there are gaps in medical education as future healthcare professionals often lack for knowledge and skills concerning leadership. The researcher stresse s that the gaps should be eliminated and medical schools include leadership in their curricula. This will enhance the quality of services provided. Such relationally loaded leadership styles are associated with emotional intelligence. Delmatoff and Lazarus (2014) state that modern leaders should be emotionally and behaviorally intelligent. The researchers claim that effective leaders should choose the most appropriate styles based on their emotions and behaviors. Thus, leaders should have emotional and behavioral self-awareness. They should also be able to be socially aware. In other words, they have to understand emotions and behavior, needs and expectations of people they lead. Delmatoff and Lazarus (2014, p. 245) argue that efficient leaders have to understand the value of using â€Å"emotionally and behaviorally intelligent style of leadership to ensure that their staff feel empowered and supported†. The researchers add that the use of this type of leadership will help cr eate the necessary atmosphere of trust and cooperation among the healthcare staff as well as between healthcare professionals and patients, which is crucial for effective treatment. It is also noted that healthcare staff need more training (in schools and in the working place). It can be beneficial to train the staff to make all the employees utilize the most appropriate leadership styles. Fine, Golden, Hannam and Morra (2009) provide interesting insights into the use of relationally loaded leadership styles. The researchers argue that it is possible to make this style more effective when utilizing Lean approach. Lean methodology was developed in the terrain of industry but it applicable in any sphere of life. Professionals of Toyota developed the methodology, and successful implementation of the approach suggests that it can facilitate development of any industry or organization. Fine et al. (2009) explain that the Lean approach is based on the idea of elimination of waste from the process of production and/or service delivery. Waste can be defined as any â€Å"non-value-added steps† (Fine et al., 2009, p. 26). The researchers argue that healthcare is â€Å"an ideal environment in which to reap the benefits of Lean† (Fine et al., 2009, p. 27). The researchers identify principles or steps in the Lean approach.Advertising We will write a custom assessment sample on Leadership and Healthcare specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These are defining value, arranging by value stream, flowing, pulling and seeking perfection. In other words, healthcare leaders should understand what patients expect from them and what they need. Healthcare professionals have to make sure that these needs and expectations are met within minimum time and with maximum efficiency. Fine et al. (2009) add that this approach is not researched in the field of healthcare and needs special attention. Researchers as well as practitioners should develop appropriate techniques to exploit Lean approach.  In conclusion, it is necessary to note that researchers stress that modern healthcare leaders have to pay more attention to emotions and personal relationships. At that, leaders should be aware of their emotions and behaviors as well as their colleagues’ and patients’ behavior and emotions. This will enable healthcare staff to provide high-quality services as the atmosphere in the working place will be characterized by trust and support. In its turn, this will positively affect patients’ healing process, as they will also be more cooperative and trustful. Importantly, although there is significant load of research in the field of healthcare leadership, many healthcare professionals lack for the necessary knowledge and skills. Researchers note that the gap should be filled. This can be implemented through inclusion of leadership in medical schools’ curricula. Healthcare staff training will also be beneficial. Healthcare professionals should be aware of recent findings in the field to be able to choose the right leadership style and utilize it correctly. Reference List Delmatoff, J., Lazarus, I.R. (2014). The most effective leadership style for the new landscape of healthcare. Journal of Healthcare Management, 59(4), 245-249. Fine, B., Golden, B., Hannam, R., Morra, D.J. (2009). Leading lean: A Canadian healthcare leader’s guide. Healthcare Quarterly, 12(3), 26-35. Laschinger, H.K.S., Wong, C.A., Cummings, G.G., Grau, A.L. (2014). Resonant leadership and workplace environment: The value of positive organizational cultures in reducing workplace incivility. Nursing Economics, 32(1), 5-16.Advertising Looking for assessment on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Slavkin, H.C. (2010). Leadership for health care in the 21st century: A personal perspective. Journal of Healthcare Leadership, 2, 35-41.

Monsters Ball Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Monsters Ball - Term Paper Example The strong point of the movie is its powerful and well crafted story. The basic attributes of the narrative of this film are miserable patriarch approach accompanied with racism, a strong hatred for women, violence, depression, frustration, victim, and the loneliness of each character. It is a dark movie in which the negative shades of human personality are prevalent. The story happens in a rural area of United States. The events of the story take place in rural Louisiana, far away from the cosmopolitan urban life. Being far away from urban and cosmopolitan culture, the people are shown as rigid. The story divides into two families. First is the family of male protagonist that is Hank and the second part is the family of Leticia. Hank’s family is a distressed family, where three men of three different generations are living together under one single roof with blood relations, but there is a vacuum of these generations. The father of Hank has a completely negative shade. He is extremely malicious towards black people. The extreme hatred is shown in the scene where he is so happy to read the article from a local newspaper about the execution of Lawrence Musgrove. He basically is pleased with the thought that one more man of colour is killed. He has passed on this same hatred to his son Hank. Hank’s son Sonny on the other hand is very sensible and sympathetic kind of person. He is lonely and somewhere searching for motherly love and care which has lost in his life. His father hates him and he is not accepted in his family. Somewhere he is in need of that lost love, affection and sense of acceptance. He was urging for his father’s love and affection. Sonny asks his father, â€Å"You hate me, don’t you?† his father coldly admitted that he doesn’t love him. Sonny before shooting himself says, â€Å"Well, I always love you,† and he kills himself in front of his father Hank. Hanks wife and his mother had committed suicid e in a same manner. The second parallel family is Leticia’s family. She is living as a single mother. She is living with her son, Tyrell. She is an African American woman whose husband Lawrence Musgrove is executed after a long waiting of 11 years. Her needs are both financial and emotional. She and her son are struggling and undergoing through financial crisis. She is in need of economic stability as well as mental stability. Her urge for her need is shown through her action of drinking. The audience are shocked when they see the suicide of Sonny. Why did Sonny become a sudden victim of frenzy? He was in need of his father’s affection at that moment. If his father had shown that affection, he probably would not have taken such a drastic step of killing himself. Same thing is with Leticia when she is shown smoking cigarette. Actually she is restless and at that moment she wants someone to give her solace, to take her out of her frustration. She wants to come out of her loneliness. It is her stupid attempt to find peace from smoking. When her son has an accident and she is shouting for help on the road hysterically, she is in need of someone who would help her and her son physically. This momentary need of course was fulfilled by Hank, who takes them to the hospital. The momentary need further develops a very close relationship between her and Hank. The complete transformation of the protagonist is also one of the major attributes of the narrative. The contradictory behaviour of Hank creates an

Changes in English Overseas Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Changes in English Overseas Trade - Essay Example For example, this group maintains the English tradesmen manipulated the Civil War that affected the Dutch in taking over the textile industry and the woolen sector of Italy. In addition, the paper looks at their other claim that the economic dominance of the English was because of political power and favoritism (Luu 2005, p.47). On that aspect, this paper provides evidence proving that the market expansion and increase of commodities came because of business strategies that other nations could foresee. Furthermore, the argumentative paper gives the economic benefits that England enjoyed because of being an economic powerhouse and implications of powers to its citizens. There have been several debates whether there have any changes or not in the English overseas trade. This concerns changes in the markets, commodities and commercial coordination among the traders who conducted business between 1500-1700. Those who are against the changes state that there were no increase in imports an d exports in during the English trade. Alternatively, those in support point that there were significant alterations in trade of the English tradesmen during the sale of their commodities and other businesses such as merchanting, warehousing, banking and insurance among others. On that account, there were many changes in English overseas trade during the period of 1500-1700 (Coclanis 2005, p.134). These changes pertain to markets, commodities and influences in commercial organization. For example the joint annual value called free on board consisting of exports, imports and re-exports inclined in the years of 1663-69 to 1699-1701 from ?8.5 million to ?12.3 million. Around this period, there were alterations in the geographical directions and the composition of commodities concerning English trade. Furthermore, the year of 1621 saw the northern Europe record a total of 62.4 percent of London imports while the southern Europe registered 31.2 percent. However, only 6.4 percent of impor ts came from outside Europe. These imports accumulated to 35.7 percent, 29.7 percent and 34.7 percent in all the three regions (Divitiis 2003, p.99). Additionally, there was domination of woolen textiles of varying types sold overseas by England in the beginning of 1600s. There was also the presence of re-exports entailing produce of colonial nature from the East Indian colonies and the Americas in the period of 1699-1701. These exports accrued to a total of 30.9 percent while the woolens registered 47.4 percent. However, those in opposition of the main changes in English overseas trade argue that between 1500-1700, the changes were meant to save labor and to control forces of nature and not trade. On that note, they argue that the change in the national income per person was not because of the increase in the exports and imports but due to transformations in employment (Fisher et al 2004, p.11) On that aspect, this is untrue because the saving of both human and capital labor came a s result of the accrued profits in the sale of commodities and changes in the markets. Furthermore, contrary to the assumption that the national income per head did not increase because of the rise in exports and imports during overseas trade, the truth is that alterations in the

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity Essay

Integrative Approaches to Psychology and Christianity - Essay Example allows for a constructive relationship between Psychology and Christian Theology, and its peaceful co-existence in the living the life God has meant us flawed humans to live. The interaction of Psychology and Theology is inevitable because of their mutual interest in understanding human nature and healing its brokenness. There have been times when their principles complemented each other, and other times when there were animosities. Integration reflects God’s desire to reconcile humanity and the larger created realm to Him (p. 81). Thinking Christians can raise metaphysical questions that harmonize with their faith, that supports and strengthens it instead of undermining it when they are introduced to well-considered and clearly articulated world and life-views. Such questioning has implications for an integrative paradigm. The book discusses various models in describing the relationships of Psychology and Christianity, ranging from the extreme Enemies paradigm which polarizes the â€Å"Secular Combatants† (psychology) and the â€Å"Christian Combatants† (Christianity), and proposes fierce loyalty to one discipline while rejecting the other. Other models like the Spies, Colonialists and Neutral Parties have tendencies to vacillate between the two disciplines. The fully integrative paradigm is the Allies. It sees the value of both camps of Christianity and Psychology, that taken together will give a fuller and more accurate picture of the truth. It is a truth that God has revealed in both the bible and in practical life. It is such a credible truth because it comes from the One who reigns supreme over both disciplines. It proposes that in seeking truth, we must study both books of God’s word (the bible, Christianity) and God’s work (the world, people, Psychology). Comprehensive study of both books will allow mutual interaction of principles which may bring us to understand that all truths is God’s truth. In the event that there are

About Clyfford Still's art work and his museum in Denver Essay

About Clyfford Still's art work and his museum in Denver - Essay Example He is, therefore seen to have created an art work world of his own, due to the fact that most his work remained hidden during and after his death in the year 1980. Clyfford Still’s art work was mainly color field painting. Most of the works that he made accessible are regarded non-figurative, and consequently non-objective. Creation and painting of formations dominated his expertise, the primary concern being to juxtapose numerous colors and surfaces to produce the formations (Demetrion 75). His independence and disregard for criticism and analysis of his work left just a few aspects of comparison between his work and those of his fellow abstract expressionism pioneers. Basically, the arrangements of his paintings were considerably less regular, unlike those of other abstract expressionists. Thick impasto critically defines the use of paints by Clyfford Still in his art work. Layers of colors in his works were done in a way that seemed to reveal colors underneath by other layers on the painting. Subtle varieties and shimmering shades characterized Clyfford Still’s painting surfaces, with natural forms and phenomena being predominant in his work (Demetrion 94). This was unique to him as an artist, because many other painters of his times concentrated on a totally different aspect. Clyfford Still imposed collection and exhibition restrictions on his paintings, making his art work hardly accessible to many people, although his 1957-D No. 1, 1957 painting remains a renowned piece of his art (Demetrion 113). Around 2400 pieces of his art work remained hidden and inaccessible until the Clyfford Still’s museum was opened in Denver. With the museum opening over twenty five years after his death, Clyfford Still’s substantial art output remained unseen for the same period. Denver, Colorado became the choice of Still’s wife as the city that would showcase Clyfford Still’s long hidden art work. The museum

Person in an event Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Person in an event - Assignment Example 47). It was a chilled winter, so cold that it seems like we were about to freeze if we went outside. She was sitting down in chair by her window, reminiscing about the old life that she had in Afghanistan. â€Å"War is terrible for everyone, you know†Ã‚  she said, without looking at me. She stared at the snow as if she wants to melt the snow with the fierce fire in her heart. Looking at her I could tell that she missed her hometown, but at the same time despise it for the fact that a place she once loved so much gave her such a harsh reality. I joined her by pulling a chair next to her. Together, we looked outside the window and I could tell that her heart was as cold as the snow outside. She slowly opened up and talked about her childhood and how happy she used to be in Afghanistan. It seemed like a distant memory now, as it has been decades since she moved to New York. But, her memory about her hometown was still vivid. The occupation of Afghanistan by the Taliban was a brut al reality for the people. They destroyed everything that was dear to their life and they had to run away from a place that they loved so much, a place they called home. â€Å"With the aid of the Pakistani army, the Taliban swept across most of the exhausted country promising a restoration of order and finally capturing Kabul in September 1996† (Gasper). I give her the name Grace, as she seemed like a graceful person. After pausing for some time, she looked at me and choked on her words, she said â€Å"I really could never understand the need for war, can’t they see that they have dislocated everyone?† I could not reply her back as I also could not understand the need to fight with each other. What is war? It is a useless method which puts everyone in misery. War is a coward’s game. When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, it was a welcomed at first by many people. But, after sometime, it was realized that the Taliban were determined to impose the st rictest Islam law on the people. The women were oppressed and abused. Grace said that once they went to a market with her father and brother and there they saw women being trashed by the Taliban men as the women were accused of venturing outside the house without a male escort. One of the women was bleeding profusely, but no one dared came to their rescue. Such was the harsh reality for many women and unfortunately they could do nothing about it. It was the helplessness that I felt for so long under the regime that made me sank to a great depression she added. When Afghanistan fell in the hands of mujahideen, many groups were not happy with the distribution of power. Hekmatyar in particular was dissatisfied with the new rule. He had a huge stock of U.S supplied weapons and he began his assault of Kabul with artillery and rocket. This struggle of power lasted for almost three years and many thousands of Afghan people were killed by their own people. "The barrage...killed more than 10 ,000 Afghans [drove] hundreds of thousands into squalid refugee camps, created political chaos, and blocked millions of exiles from returning" (Gasper). I have gone through the sufferings and chaos caused by the Taliban people in Afghanistan through many of my researches. After interviewing many people, I could tell that they were tired of the war in their country and many were too sentimental to talk about it as they had

About Clyfford Still's art work and his museum in Denver Essay

About Clyfford Still's art work and his museum in Denver - Essay Example He is, therefore seen to have created an art work world of his own, due to the fact that most his work remained hidden during and after his death in the year 1980. Clyfford Still’s art work was mainly color field painting. Most of the works that he made accessible are regarded non-figurative, and consequently non-objective. Creation and painting of formations dominated his expertise, the primary concern being to juxtapose numerous colors and surfaces to produce the formations (Demetrion 75). His independence and disregard for criticism and analysis of his work left just a few aspects of comparison between his work and those of his fellow abstract expressionism pioneers. Basically, the arrangements of his paintings were considerably less regular, unlike those of other abstract expressionists. Thick impasto critically defines the use of paints by Clyfford Still in his art work. Layers of colors in his works were done in a way that seemed to reveal colors underneath by other layers on the painting. Subtle varieties and shimmering shades characterized Clyfford Still’s painting surfaces, with natural forms and phenomena being predominant in his work (Demetrion 94). This was unique to him as an artist, because many other painters of his times concentrated on a totally different aspect. Clyfford Still imposed collection and exhibition restrictions on his paintings, making his art work hardly accessible to many people, although his 1957-D No. 1, 1957 painting remains a renowned piece of his art (Demetrion 113). Around 2400 pieces of his art work remained hidden and inaccessible until the Clyfford Still’s museum was opened in Denver. With the museum opening over twenty five years after his death, Clyfford Still’s substantial art output remained unseen for the same period. Denver, Colorado became the choice of Still’s wife as the city that would showcase Clyfford Still’s long hidden art work. The museum

Project Selection using an integrated AHP Essay

Project Selection using an integrated AHP - Essay Example The comparisons are to comprehend using pair wise matrix which suits the criterion of the study. This model is competent of implement ting the AHP values and the consistency in the study and the time taken. The boundary of the study deals with the AHP as the process itself with much preferences given to the hierarchy models and the sub hierarchy models associated and the criteria and the sub criteria related.The predetermined scale of the process are to be taken into consideration and the pairwise matrix of the study and the numerical preference value of the same are to be considered. The methodology of the study mainly deal with the strategic objective, they include the qualitative and the quantitative method in the selection of the process. The main methods incorporated are the cost of the money, cost benefit analysis, pay back period, rate of return etc. As per the conclusion assessment and collection of projects before venture resolution is normally done using, technological and monetary information. In this study a new methodology is proposed and the easy decision making is done by selecting the best one. The factors that are needed in project evaluation are numerous. There are both independent as well as inter dependent factors which needs to be employed in project selection. The AHP analysis of projects consists of the evaluation of only independent factors in multicriteria decision making. The AHP model is a very appropriate model for project selection but all the dependent as well as independent factors should be correctly evaluated and measured. Each of the other alternative should be properly measured especially the project’s cost. Each of the alternative decisions needed in the AHP analysis should be measured through the cost incurred in the criteria and also the value generated through the decisive factor

Sophocles’ prolific Essay Example for Free

Sophocles’ prolific Essay Sophocles’ prolific writing has rarely produced a woman of such stern strength of character as â€Å"Antigone†. Inversely the comedy of Aristophanes â€Å"Lysistrat† was among the first to introduce a strong willed female protagonist, who is not a goddess. The treatment of both great writers differs in the fact that the backdrops and the moods are distinctly different. While Sophocles zeroed in on the sombre tragedy, Aristophanes chose to inject feminist revolt against domination through zestful comedy. From a gender perspective it is important to study the motives behind the actions of the lead characters in both the plays. There have been suicides and suicides in Greek tragedies (which almost define Greek tragedies). Sophocles’ Antigone commits suicide in the dark dungeon left to starve to death. But unlike the suicide of their mother Jocasta who decides to end her life when she learns that her marital relationship with Oedipus was incestuous, Antigone’s death is a defiant protest against the tyranny of her uncle Creon and an emphasis of her strongly held belief, that her brother should be accorded a proper burial. There have been few examples of valour from Greek women who defied the norms of either their contemporary society or their king for a symbolic gesture rather than a cause. In the case of Antigone it was the burial rights to one of her two dead brothers which drives her to go against the will of the ruler, Creon. â€Å"Antigone† begins after both the warring brothers have apparently killed each other and since Polynices revolted against the state and led an Argive army to overthrow his brother Eteocles, he is deemed to be a sinner against the state. Thus Creone, brother of Jocasta, who becomes the ruler decrees his body to be deprived of proper burial rites to ensure that his soul rots beyond redemption. Antigone, in the beginning of the play expresses her wish to accord her brother proper burial. It is a symbolic depiction of Antigone’s moral strength that she decides to go ahead in her chosen course though she is unable to enlist the support of her more timid sister Ismene. This is a marked deviation from the depiction of women in Greek literature of the time where women were always looked upon as dependent on others for the strength of their convictions. Antigone succeeds in her stated mission and when this becomes known to Creone, an argument rages on the choice between the natural law and man-made laws. In another daring drift from established norm, the chorus in Sophocles’ play have the moral courage to call the path of their emperor as the more evil. Creone’s son and Antigone’s fiance Haemon comes to her defence and the ensuing debate on the justice of natural laws which should supersede man made laws is a dramatist’s delight. Creone, however, decides to leave Antigone to starve to death in a sealed cave as her prison. The blind prophet Tiresias also advocates against punishment to Antigone and says he will pay â€Å"corpse for corpse, and flesh for flesh†. The declaration of Tiresias that Creon is causing moral pollution causes a change of heart in Creone. His moral dilemma leads him to conclude that Polynices should be buried and Antigone should be pardoned. But by this time, Hameon reaches Antigone’s cave with the intention of saving her only to find that she has committed suicide by hanging herself, much like her mother Jocasta before her. When Creon reaches the cave he finds Hameon grieving over Antigone and he takes his life by stabbing himself as Creon approaches him. This leads Eurydice, Creon’s wife to give up her life in the grief of her son’s untimely death. Thus Creon loses all his loved ones due to his one fatal erring conviction to hold the laws of the state above the natural law. The tragic flaw, is thus justified in Sophocles’ â€Å"Antigone†. It is easy to categorize the play Lysistrata by Aristophanes as a lewd comedy designed to entertain the Greek literature and drama lovers with a lampooning of the results if women begin to take an interest in affairs of national importance. It is also very convenient to visualize male actors playing all the important roles of the play and the â€Å"male† male characters wearing erect phalluses to depict their masculinity might have led to uproarious laughter. However, with passing time and the aid of retrospection help us to begin to understand that Aristophanes might have devoted considerable time and emotional energy in trying to decipher what goes through the hearts and heads of women of his time who were modelled to be subservient and detached from the affairs of the state. Lysistrata leads a domestic and non violent non-cooperation movement (though the medium of non cooperation seldom ventures beyond the conventional sexual subjugation) to convince the men of the time to end the long standing war (apparently the Peloponnesian war) and bring back peace. The play is an apparent comedy that it depicts women as sex crazed and spine less characters for whom rising beyond their daily chores is a daunting task. Except fro Lysistrata, no other woman comes across as strong willed enough to contribute in any way to the cause of the play. One can imagine the gusty laughter the scene involving the swearing of oath by drinking wine from a shield as it was a portrayal of women as being incapable of self restraint (from all good things in life, including wine and sex). Though Lysistrata as a play has a lot of titillate the viewers, it has been seen in modern light as a commentary on the plight of women who have no say in the affairs of the state entirely decide by the men but have to silently suffer the consequences. This has remained unchanged even after the liberation ages of the 20th century. Aristophanes does manage to draw a caricature of Greek women as incapable of with holding sex or thinking beyond sex as the only weapon in her armour to control or change society. It is possible though to excuse this caricature as Aristophanes’ attempt not to ruffle the feathers of his contemporary society while at the same time recording for future history that women did harbour different opinions on the approaches of the state to war and peace. The widowhood and martyrdom of a mother who loses her children to the ravages of war are not mentioned, perhaps because they would have added the much relegated sobriety to this deemed comedy. Gender domination is a visible thread in Lysistrata, but whether Aristophanes designed this play as a comic fiction based on improbable scenarios of liberated women questioning state policies, or as an underhanded attempt to depict female angst of his contemporary Greek society is debatable. However Lysistrata has remained current and meaningful to this date due to its universal themes of Peace being preferred over War and has helped several social commentators put across their point during the several un necessary wars that dot world history to date be it the Vietnam war or the latest invasion of Iraq. Whatever be the motivation, both Sophocles and Aristophanes manage to leave behind a piece of Literature which continues to engage readers and historians in a healthy debate on the premium placed on female equality by writers from the Greek age to the present day. Works Cited or used as reference Henderson, Jeffrey (contributor) Lysistrata by Aristophanes, London : Oxford University Press, 1990 Translated by Gibbons, Reginald and Segal, Charles Antigone by Sophocles, NewYork : Oxford University Press US, 2003

Carbon credit

Carbon credit Carbon credits is a mechanism adopted by national and international governments to mitigate the effects of Green House Gases(GHGs). One Carbon Credit is equal to one ton of Carbon. Greenhouse Gases are capped and markets are used to regulate the emissions from the sources. The idea is to allow market mechanisms to drive industrial and commercial processes in the direction of low Greenhouse Gases(GHGs). These mitigation projects generate credits, which can be traded in the international markets for monetary benefits. There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis. These carbon offsetters purchase the credits from an investment fund or a carbon development company that has aggregated the credits from individual projects. The quality of the credits is based in part on the validation process and sophistication of the fund or development company that acted as the sponsor to the carbon project. This is reflected in their price; voluntary units typically have less value than the units sold through the rigorously-validated Clean Development Mechanism. Background Fossil Fuels are the major source of Greehouse Gas Emissions. Industries such as Power, Textile, Fertilizer use fossil fuels for their high volumes of operations. The major greenhouse gases emitted by these industries are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), etc, all of which increase the atmospheres ability to trap infrared energy and thus affect the climate. The increasing awareness about the environmental degradation gave rise to the concept called Carbon Credit. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has observed that: Policies that provide a real or implicit price of carbon could create incentives for producers and consumers to significantly invest in low-GHG products, technologies and processes. Such policies could include economic instruments, government funding and regulation, while noting that a tradable permit system is one of the policy instruments that has been shown to be environmentally effective in the industrial sector, as long as there are reasonable levels of predictability over the initial allocation mechanism and price. The mechanism was formalized in the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement between more than 170 countries, and the market mechanisms were agreed through the subsequent Accords. Emission Allowances The Protocol agreed caps or quotas on the maximum amount of Greenhouse gases for developed and developing countries. In turn these countries set quotas on the emissions of installations run by local business and other organizations, generically termed operators. Countries manage this through their own national registries, which are required to be validated and monitored for compliance by the UNFCCC. Each operator has an allowance of credits, where each unit gives the owner the right to emit one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or other equivalent greenhouse gas. Operators that have not used up their quotas can sell their unused allowances as carbon credits, while businesses that are about to exceed their quotas can buy the extra allowances as credits, privately or on the open market. As demand for energy grows over time, the total emissions must still stay within the cap, but it allows industry some flexibility and predictability in its planning to accommodate this. By permitting allowances to be bought and sold, an operator can seek out the most cost-effective way of reducing its emissions, either by investing in cleaner machinery and practices or by purchasing emissions from another operator who already has excess capacity. Since 2005, the Kyoto mechanism has been adopted for CO2 trading by all the countries within the European Union under its European Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with the European Commission as its validating authority. From 2008, EU participants must link with the other developed countries who ratified the protocol, and trade the six most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gases. In the United States, which has not ratified Kyoto, and Australia, whose ratification came into force in March 2008, similar schemes are being considered. Kyotos Flexible Mechanisms A credit can be an emissions allowance which was originally allocated or auctioned by the national administrators of a cap-and-trade program, or it can be an offset of emissions. Such offsetting and mitigating activities can occur in any developing country which has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and has a national agreement in place to validate its carbon project through one of the UNFCCCs approved mechanisms. Once approved, these units are termed Certified Emission Reductions, or CERs. The Protocol allows these projects to be constructed and credited in advance of the Kyoto trading period. The Kyoto Protocol provides for three mechanisms that enable countries or operators in developed countries to acquire greenhouse gas reduction credit. Under Joint Implementation (JI) a developed country with relatively high costs of domestic greenhouse reduction would set up a project in another developed country. Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) a developed country can sponsor a greenhouse gas reduction project in a developing country where the cost of greenhouse gas reduction project activities is usually much lower, but the atmospheric effect is globally equivalent. The developed country would be given credits for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country would receive the capital investment and clean technology or beneficial change in land use. Under International Emissions Trading (IET) countries can trade in the international carbon credit market to cover their shortfall in allowances. Countries with surplus credits can sell them to countries with capped emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. These carbon projects can be created by a national government or by an operator within the country. Emission Markets One allowance or CER is considered equivalent to one metric tonne of CO2 emissions. These allowances can be sold privately or in the international market at the prevailing market price. Each international transfer is validated by the UNFCCC. Climate exchanges have been established to provide a spot market in allowances, as well as futures and options market to help discover a market price and maintain liquidity. Carbon prices are normally quoted in Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent (CO2e). Other greenhouse gasses can also be traded, but are quoted as standard multiples of carbon dioxide with respect to their global warming potential. These features reduce the quotas financial impact on business, while ensuring that the quotas are met at a national and international level. Many companies now engage in emissions abatement, offsetting, and sequestration programs to generate credits that can be sold on one of the exchanges. Managing emissions is one of the fastest-growing segments in financial services in the City of London with a market now worth about â‚ ¬30 billion, but which could grow to â‚ ¬1 trillion within a decade. Louis Redshaw, head of environmental markets at Barclays Capital predicts that Carbon will be the worlds biggest commodity market, and it could become the worlds biggest market overall. Setting A Market Price For Carbon Energy usage and emissions should be kept under constant check else they will only rise over time. Hence the number of companies needing to buy credits will increase over the period of time. This Supply-Demand for credits will determine the price of the Carbon which will in turn encourage companies to go cleaner. An individual allowance, such as a Kyoto Assigned Amount Unit (AAU) or its near-equivalent European Union Allowance (EUA), may have a different market value to an offset such as a CER. This is due to the lack of a developed secondary market for CERs, a lack of homogeneity between projects which causes difficulty in pricing. Additionally, offsets generated by a carbon project under the Clean Development Mechanism are potentially limited in value because operators in the EU ETS are restricted as to what percentage of their allowance can be met through these flexible mechanisms. Raising the price of carbon will achieve four goals. First, it will provide signals to consumers about what goods and services are high-carbon ones and should therefore be used more sparingly. Second, it will provide signals to producers about which inputs use more carbon (such as coal and oil) and which use less or none (such as natural gas or nuclear power), thereby inducing firms to substitute low-carbon inputs. Third, it will give market incentives for inventors and innovators to develop and introduce low-carbon products and processes that can replace the current generation of technologies. Fourth, and most important, a high carbon price will economize on the information that is required to do all three of these tasks. Through the market mechanism, a high carbon price will raise the price of products according to their carbon content Criticisms Environmental restrictions and activities have been imposed on businesses through regulation. Many are uneasy with this approach to managing emissions. The Kyoto mechanism is the only internationally-agreed mechanism for regulating carbon credit activities, and, crucially, includes checks for additionality and overall effectiveness. Its supporting organisation, the UNFCCC, is the only organisation with a global mandate on the overall effectiveness of emission control systems, although enforcement of decisions relies on national co-operation. The Kyoto trading period only applies for five years between 2008 and 2012. The first phase of the EU ETS system started before then, and is expected to continue in a third phase afterwards, and may co-ordinate with whatever is internationally-agreed at but there is general uncertainty as to what will be agreed in Post-Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions. As business investment often operates over decades, this adds risk and uncertainty to their plans. As several countries responsible for a large proportion of global emissions (notably USA, Australia, China) have avoided mand atory caps, this also means that businesses in capped countries may perceive themselves to be working at a competitive disadvantage against those in uncapped countries as they are now paying for their carbon costs directly. A key concept behind the cap and trade system is that national quotas should be chosen to represent genuine and meaningful reductions in national output of emissions. Not only does this ensure that overall emissions are reduced but also that the costs of emissions trading are carried fairly across all parties to the trading system. However, governments of capped countries may seek to unilaterally weaken their commitments, as evidenced by the 2006 and 2007 National Allocation Plans for several countries in the EU ETS, which were submitted late and then were initially rejected by the European Commission for being too lax. A question has been raised over the grandfathering of allowances. Countries within the EU ETS have granted their incumbent businesses most or all of their allowances for free. This can sometimes be perceived as a protectionist obstacle to new entrants into their markets. There have also been accusations of power generators getting a windfall profit by passing on these emissions charges to their customers. As the EU ETS moves into its second phase and joins up with Kyoto, it seems likely that these problems will be reduced as more allowances will be auctioned. Establishing a meaningful offset project is complex: voluntary offsetting activities outside the CDM mechanism are effectively unregulated and there have been criticisms of offsetting in these unregulated activities. This particularly applies to some voluntary corporate schemes in uncapped countries and for some personal carbon offsetting schemes. There have also been concerns raised over the validation of CDM credits. One concern has related to the accurate assessment of additionality. Others relate to the effort and time taken to get a project approved. Questions may also be raised about the validation of the effectiveness of some projects; it appears that many projects do not achieve the expected benefit after they have been audited, and the CDM board can only approve a lower amount of CER credits. For example, it may take longer to roll out a project than originally planned, or an afforestation project may be reduced by disease or fire. For these reasons some countries place additional restrictions on their local implementations and will not allow credits for some types of carbon sink activity, such as forestry or land use projects. Carbon Tax Carbon tax is a form of pollution tax. It levies a fee on the production, distribution or use of fossil fuels based on how much carbon their combustion emits. The government sets a price per ton on carbon. Carbon tax also makes alternative energy more cost-competitive with cheaper, polluting fuels like coal, natural gas and oil. Carbon tax is based on the economic principle of negative externalities. Externalities are costs or benefits generated by the production of goods and services. Negative externalities are costs that are not paid for. When utilities, businesses or homeowners consume fossil fuels, they create pollution that has a societal cost; everyone suffers from the effects of pollution. Proponents of a carbon tax believe that the price of fossil fuels should account for these societal costs. Benefits The primary purpose of carbon tax is to lower greenhouse-gas emissions. The tax charges a fee on fossil fuels based on how much carbon they emit when burned (more on that later). So in order to reduce the fees, utilities, business and individuals attempt to use less energy derived from fossil fuels. An individual might switch to public transportation and replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). A business might increase energy efficiency by installing new appliances or updating heating and cooling systems. And since carbon tax sets a definite price on carbon, there is a guaranteed return on expensive efficiency investments. Carbon tax also encourages alternative energy by making it cost-competitive with cheaper fuels. A tax on a plentiful and inexpensive fuel like coal raises its per British Thermal Unit (Btu) price to one comparable with cleaner forms of power. A Btu is a standard measure of heat energy used in industry. The money that is raised by carbon tax can help subsidize environmental programs or be issued as a rebate. Many fans of carbon tax believe in progressive tax-shifting. This would mean that some of the tax burden would shift away from federal income tax and state sales tax. Economists like carbon tax for its predictability. The price of carbon under cap-and-trade schemes can fluctuate with weather and changing economic conditions. This is because cap-and-trade schemes set a definite limit on emissions, not a definite price on carbon. Carbon tax is stable. Businesses and utilities would know the price of carbon and where it was headed. They could then invest in alternative energy and increased energy efficiency based on that knowledge. Its also easier for people to understand carbon tax. The Logistics of Carbon Tax The carbon content of oil, coal and gas varies. Proponents of a carbon tax want to encourage the use of efficient fuels. If all fuel types were taxed equally by weight or volume, there would be no incentive to use cleaner sources like natural gas over dirtier, cheaper ones like coal. To fairly reflect carbon content, the tax has to be based on Btu heat units something standardized and quantifiable instead of unrelated units like weight or volume. Each fuel variety also has its own carbon content. Bituminous coal, for instance, contains considerably more carbon than lignite coal. Residual fuel oil contains more carbon than gasoline. Every fuel variety needs to have its own rate based on its Btu heat content. Carbon tax can be levied at different points of production and consumption. Some taxes target the top of the supply chain the transaction between producers like coal mines and oil wellheads and suppliers like coal shippers and oil refiners. Some taxes affect distributors the oil companies and utilities. And other taxes charge consumers directly through electric bills. Different carbon taxes, both real and theoretical, support varying points of implementation. The only carbon tax in the United States, a municipal tax in Boulder, Colo., taxes the consumers homeowners and businesses. People in Boulder pay a fee based on the number of kilowatt hours of electricity they use. Like Boulder, Sweden also taxes the consumption end. The national carbon tax charges homeowners a full rate and halves it for industry. Utilities are not charged at all. Since the majority of Swedish power consumption goes to heat, and because the tax exempts renewable energy sources like those derived from plants, the biofuel industry has blossomed since 1991. Even though the tax is toward the top end, companies can, and probably will, pass on some of the cost to consumers by charging more for energy. Its easier to tax consumption than production. Consumers are more willing to pay the extra $16 a year for a carbon tax. Producers are usually not. Taxes on production can also be economically disruptive and make domestic energy more expensive than foreign imports. Thats why existing carbon taxes target consumers, or, in the case of Quebec, energy and oil companies. Carbon tax has a patchy history around the world. Its widely accepted only in Northern Europe Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden all tax carbon in some form. Carbon Tax Vs Carbon Credit Carbon Tax is better alternative than Carbon Credit mainly because of the following six reasons Energy Prices are easily predictable by the mechanism of tax than by the mechanism of Cap and Trade. The high volatility of the carbon credits that are generated by the mechanism of Cap and Trade has consistently discouraged energy efficient schemes. Tax system can be quickly implemented than Cap and Trade. Since the environment is getting polluted at a faster rate, it is high time that necessary actions are taken quickly and efficiently. Tax system Carbon taxes are transparent and easily understandable, making them more likely to garner public support than complex Cap and Trade. Carbon taxes cannot be easily manipulated and hence cannot be easily exploited whereas the complexity of Cap and Trade always provides room for exploitation for special interests Carbon taxes address emissions of carbon from every sector, whereas some cap-and-trade systems discussed to date have only targeted the electricity industry. Carbon tax revenues would most likely be returned to the public through dividends or progressive tax-shifting, while the costs of cap-and-trade systems are likely to become a hidden tax as dollars flow to market participants, lawyers and consultants. Carbon Taxes Will Lend Predictability to Energy Prices. With carbon taxes ramped up through a multi-year phase-in, future energy and power prices can be predicted with a reasonable degree of confidence well ahead of time. This will make it possible for literally millions of energy-critical decisions — from the design of new electricity generating plants to the purchase of the family car to the materials used in commercial airframes — to be made with full cognizance of carbon-appropriate price signals. In contrast, a cap-and-trade program will worsen the volatility of energy prices since the price of carbon allowances will fluctuate as weather and economic factors affect the demand for energy. The vaunted advantage of cap-and-trade — that future levels of carbon emissions can be known ahead of time — is mostly notional. And even certainty in future emission levels is of questionable value, since there is no agreed-upon trajectory of emissions for achieving climate stability and preventing disaster. Carbon Taxes Will Provide Quicker Results. The taxes themselves can be designed and adopted quickly and fairly. Cap-and-trade systems, by contrast, are highly complex and will take years to develop and implement. Disruptive issues must be addressed intellectually and resolved politically; the proper level of the cap, timing, allowance allocations, certification procedures, standards for use of offsets, penalties, regional conflicts, the inevitable requests for exceptions by affected parties and a myriad of other complex issues must all be resolved before cap-and-trade systems can be implemented. During this time, polluters will continue to emit carbon with no cost consequences. Carbon Taxes Are Transparent and Are Easier to Understand than Cap-and-Trade. A carbon tax is transparent and easy to understand; the government simply imposes a tax per ton of carbon emitted, which is easily translated into a tax per kWh of electricity, gallon of gasoline or therm of natural gas. By contrast, the prices for carbon set under a cap-and-trade system will vary with market fluctuations and be impossible even for big to predict. A cap-and-trade system will require a complex and difficult to understand market structure in order to balance the many competing interests and ensure that the trading system minimizes distortions and maximizes real carbon reductions. A Carbon Taxs Simplicity prevents it Against Incentives and Potential for vested interests that Will Accompany Cap-and-Trade. In contrast to the simple and straightforward process of implementing a carbon tax, the protracted negotiations necessary to implement a cap-and-trade system will provide constant opportunities for the fossil fuel industry and other invested parties to shape a system that maximizes their financial self-interests as opposed to an economically efficient system that maximizes societal well-being. If allowances are allocated based on some type of baseline reflecting past pollution (which has been the practice with NOx and SO2trading programs), rather than being auctioned, polluters will have perverse incentives to maximize emissions before the cap-and-trade system goes into effect in order to â€Å"earn† those pollution rights. Carbon Taxes Address All Sectors and Activities Producing Carbon Emissions. Carbon taxes target carbon emissions in all sectors — energy, industry and transportation — whereas at least some cap-and-trade proposals are limited to the electric industry. It would be unwise to ignore the non-electricity sectors that account for more than 50% of CO2 emissions. Carbon Taxes Can Produce a Far More Equitable Result than Cap-and-Trade. As discussed in our Issue Paper, Managing the Impacts, carbon tax revenues can be returned through dividends or can be used to fund progressive tax-shifting to reduce regressive sales taxes. The costs of cap-and-trade systems, both implementation and the costs incurred as more expensive technologies replace older and less expensive coal-fired combustion, are far more likely to be imposed upon consumers with less possibility of rebating or tax-shifting. Moreover, because cap-and-trade relies on market participants to determine a fair price for carbon allowances on an ongoing basis, the complications involved are severe with economists, lawyers and politicians getting involved constantly.

Historic Model Of Science :: essays research papers

The ‘heroic model’ of science is one of the most influential phenomena in history. This surge of value-free knowledge, filled with realism, bold justification, absolute truth and complete objectivity, changed the way in which the world was perceived and how the future would be viewed. The ‘heroic model’ changed the rules and ushered western civilization into a new era, filled with wonderfully shocking scientific surprises. The backlash from the ‘heroic model’ was so powerful that it heavily influenced other subjects, such as history.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ‘heroic model’ of science was a phenomenon of the western world, during the Enlightenment. This wonder aided in transforming scientists, philosophers and others among them into cultural heroes. Science became a part of home life, when in previous times science was seen as a threat to religion and thus proclaimed as wrong. Once science became a part of life and began to prove and bluntly say things that the bible and religion could not come near to explaining, it became the basis for fact. The ‘heroic model’ could easily be blamed for the breakdown of the religious-infested societies that plagued the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This became very important to everyone involved, which proved to be more people than expected. The ‘heroic model’ was an opening for scientist and others to express their opinions without the fear of being ostracized and labeled as a blasphemer. These people were no longer look down upon as sinners, against God and religion, yet they were praised for bring truth and secularity to the world. “Facts'; no longer were infested or influenced by religion, the truth was the real truth. “It replaced the fear and anxiety that nature once evoked with hope inspired by an ordered, harmonious, knowable world.';   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ‘heroic model’ boosted science to a level that nothing else had ever reached or attempted to attain. Science, during the Enlightenment and consequently afterwards, was used to measure the status of a country and their position of power. If a country was not as advance as another country was in the sciences then that country was obviously not civilized and was beneath the other country. Such as, the economy might be used to determine the status or worldly position of a country today that is how science was used during the Age of Enlightenment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The progression of science and the overwhelming success of the ‘heroic model’ not only yanked science to the forefront, but it also influenced and changed the way history was being perceived and studied.

Comparing The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Job Essay -- Compare C

Centuries ago, two books were written with similar and different ideas. The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Book of Job have different settings although they both discuss friendship, death and mortality, pain and suffering, and characters, but individually the book of Job examines where human beings stand in the world. The Epic of Gilgameshis thought to have been orally recited in the late third millennium B.C.E in Sumer. Gilgameshis a semi historical, two- thirds god and one-third man, ruler of the city of Uruk in Sumer in the region of Mesopotamia approximately in 2800 B.C.E (19). The book of job takes place in Uz around the 530’s B.C.E (34). The Epic of Gilgamesh and the book of job both have similar and different characters. They both have important gods although in the book of job there is only one god. In the book of job the only god is Yahweh. He is the all knowing and the creator of the universe. In the Epic of Gilgamesh there are many gods and goddesses including the most mentioned one; Ishtar. Ishtar is the goddess of love, fertility, and war. Job is the main character in the book of job, he questions god, and he creates the plot by obeying and then disobeying god. The friend of job come to show sympathy for job and Enkidu is the reason for the change of man in Gilgamesh. Both stories have a villain, in the book of Job it is Satan and in the Epic of Gilgamesh, it is Ishtar in the beginning for killing Enkidu and then it is the serpent for taking the plants away from Gilgamesh. Both the Epic of Gilgamesh and the book of job have friendship in common. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu and Gilgamesh have a very strong and unbreakable friendship. Gilgamesh turns away from the affection of the Goddess Ishtar for his platoni... ...n the world. Job questions what god is really doing for him. Then god talks to job in question form about the creation of the earth. This shows that jobs is very small compared to god, so small that he cannot even being to understand some of the the things god is telling him. Chapter 38 proves to job that humans are far below the power of god then in chapter 42 job quickly shames himself for the previous things he said. The Epic of Gilgamesh and the book of job are similar because they both share themes characters and setting. These two books differ because the book of job because it has a major theme that discusses where humans stand in the world. Works Cited Fiero, Gloria K. The Humanistic Tradition. 6th ed. Bk. 1. Boston: McGraw, 2011. Print. â€Å"From the Epic of Gilgamesh.† Fiero 19-23. â€Å"From the Hebrew Bible: The Book of Job.† Fiero 34-36.